Gaydon with Chadshunt Parish Magazine May 2007

Village Coffee Morning

in St Giles Church
Saturday 12 May at 11 o'clock
Homemade Cakes and Bring and Buy
Raffle
Coffee, Tea and Biscuits
Come along to meet other villagers and find out how you can take part in the weekend of flowers planned for Saturday and Sunday 9 and 10 June

Friendship Club

Our May meeting is to be held at 2.30pm on Tuesday 22nd at Offchurch, Banbury Road, Gaydon.

Mobile Library

The van will be visiting the village on Thursdays 3rd, 17th and 31st this month.

Parish Council

There will be no election for Parish Councillors on May 3rd because a full complement of 5 people only submitted nominations. This means that the Parish Council from that date will be:
Jonathan Crowe, Helene McGrath, Tony McGrath, Bernard Price and Andy Thomas.
The first meeting of the new council will be after the AGM on Tuesday 8th May in the Village Hall at 8pm.

Gaydon Fete 2007

Saturday 30 June
in the Field behind Church Lane
Children's Area with a Bouncy Castle, face painting etc
Car Boot Sale
Dog Show
Raffle, Tombola, Teas and Cakes
various stalls and games

Nature Notes

It's pretty evident that spring has arrived now. I saw my first Swallows at Chadshunt on April 17th, exceptionally early for this area. The following day there were several others over the village. Unlike the Swift, which should also reach us any day now, the Swallow has declined considerably in the village recently. Most now only nest in Poplars Farm and Ireland Farm's out-buildings. The increase in Barn conversions and the lack of livestock and milking herds (which attracted quantities of midges and flies around farm buildings) is probably the reason. I have happy memories of milking cows and seeing the attentive parents flying and twittering around the nests in the parlour rafters. House Martins seem to like the flats in St Marks and several other favoured village houses. They need a close proximity to damp mud for nest building and repair.
A farmer friend of mine always makes damp patches in his yard for them and in consequence has hundreds of pairs around. The benefits are mutual, as they eat most of the flies and Mosquitoes in exchange.
All these birds have attempted to nest in the church porch too! Even when the doors were closed they would settle and crawl under the gap to reach the nest... ingenious and determined; though hardly surprising in a small creature that flies here from Africa, arriving at the same place in which it was hatched with astonishing navigational accuracy! Gilbert White and many other early naturalists believed that they buried themselves at the bottom of rivers and hibernated.
Some great sightings of Buzzards high on the thermals during the recent good weather, performing their courtship displays in groups of up to six. The sight of the dainty Orange-tip and Yellow Brimstone butterflies is a sure sign that temperatures are rising. They are true harbingers of Spring along with Bluebells, Wood Anemones and Primroses in the woods.
Look out for the rare Bee orchid found around Gaydon and the Early Purple Orchid which can be found in several places locally too.
Now is the time many people begin walking the footpaths around the Parish, many with dogs. It is wise not to deviate from these historic routes into areas of growing crops or young livestock - a number of concerns from local farmers about this happening recently; a responsible approach is the key!
A covey of Grey Partriges often seen and heard near the village is a delight, whilst a sad road kill toll of Badgers is the opposite: perhaps some drivers should slow down a bit, which might save a few of these young animals who are seeking new territories at this time of year. Bernard Price

Great Walks of Gaydon Number 2

Allotment Walk
Here is another short walk. Although the walk is flat and is at most a mile and a half in length, part of it is over ploughed land and so it is unsuitable for pushchairs.

Start in Church Lane at the back of the church with the churchyard wall on your right. Now walk westward to the end of Church Lane and enter the snickett. Keep going for about a hundred yards until you come out at a grassy patch at the end of St Marks Close. Negotiate the footpath alongside a garden fence and climb over the stile at the end.

You are now in a field. The path goes off to the left and heads due South across the grass to a stile in a hedge. Climb the stile and the path ahead is marked out in yellow against the green corn. Walk over the cornfield to a gap in the hedge beside a stile. The farm track to your right leads to Tollgate Cottage on the Kineton Road. Cross over the farm track to another cornfield.

Again the path is marked out in yellow against the green corn. Follow the path for about 200 yards. On this leg of the walk do take time to stop and look around: there are clear views of the hills to the South and you can get a good impression of the village of Gaydon nestling in its hollow. You may be lucky enough to see skylarks here.

The path now turns right and heads for a stile in the hedge that separates the field from the Kineton Road. The clue to this mysterious turn is in the name of the field you have just crossed. It is known as the "Allotment Field" because of the village allotments that used to be here. The path was used by villagers walking out to tend their plots.

The ditch shown on the Explorer OS map 206, like the allotments, now exits only in the country of the past. To return to Gaydon either walk along the road or retrace your steps and walk the path in reverse.

Flag

It was very nice to see the flag fluttering again on the village green to celebrate St George's Day on the 23rd of April. It was also our local hero's birthday - old William Shakespeare!
Many thanks to the flag raiser.

Parish Council

As ever, we continue to hold a 'surgery' between approximately 10am and 11am in the Parish Office (behind the Village Hall) on Saturday mornings, if anyone has any business they wish to bring to our attention.
One area of ongoing concern is dog fouling. There seems to be an increased number of dog owners in the village recently, and we have had complaints about loose dogs. The dog warden does patrol the village and anyone caught allowing their dog to foul will be called to account.
Please remember the law which is that 'it is an offence not to pick up after your dog not just on the pavement but on any grass verge within a 30mph limit' - so most of the village. The fine for this is up to £1000.
It is also an offence not to pick up after your dog on a public footpath across farmland 'and it should be on the footpath' so you should pick up after it wherever it goes!
Quite apart from the law, it is just socially responsible to keep the village clean. There are dog bins and litter bins for waste. Just take a poop scoop with you or a carrier bag. How hard can it be?

Village Hall News

AGM
Monday 21 May at 8pm
followed by Committee Meeting
Members of the Public are invited to attend

Services for May 2007 AD

* Please note the slightly later time of this service, owing to changes in service patterns across the group of parishes.

Weekday Service

Eucharist at St Giles' Church on Wednesday 16th at 11am

Pastoral Ministry

To arrange baptisms, marriages, visits at home or in hospital, the Sacrament of Reconciliation or for any other pastoral matter, please contact the Vicar on 01295 770400 or email philip.francis@regents.ox.ac.uk

The Vicar's Letter

At a full church at St Peter and St Clare, Fenny Compton, on 22 April I was licensed by the Bishop of Coventry as Priest in Charge of Fenny Compton with Farnborough and Avon Dassett, and the Dassett Magna Group of Parishes was formed.
It was good to see the congregations well represented and I thought the Eucharist was an inspiring service, complemented by Alastair and the group of singers drawn from across the group.
This was a foretaste of what we can do TOGETHER. The Bishop referred to it as ''critical mass'' and a way for us, as we have planned, to continue working, worshipping and meeting together.
Please pray for this new venture and please support the work of the Church in the parishes of Dassett Magna.

St Giles' Church

Floral Remembrance & Art Exhibition
Saturday & Sunday 9 &10 June at St Giles' Church & the Village Hall
You can choose to come along on one or both days to reflect on those you hold dear to your heart or simply to see the flowers; view the exhibited art and a painting demonstration; listen to a mixture of live and recorded music and enjoy the company of friends over tea and scones.
Would you like to take part?
Bring flowers to the church to remember someone you love - see the article in this magazine or telephone Chris Corner and Joan Hare on 640523 & 641415.
Come to the service 'Growing Together' on Sunday 10 June at 11.15am. You can request a favourite hymn or reading by ringing the Vicar, Rev. Philip Francis, on 01295 700400; or Alistair Hotchkiss on 642248.
Take part in the Art Exhibition by showing your original art work in the village hall: contact Brian Aldrich on 01295 770425 or Peggy Shiner on 641138.
If you are a child, enter the Miniature Garden, Vegetable Sculpture or Flower & Leaf Collage competitions; please ring Kristy Reimers-Loader on 645944 to find out the rules.
If you would you like to lend a hand with any part of the activities mentioned above, or would like more information about anything, please contact Jane Goldsmith on 642571.

In Our Thoughts....

flowers to remember the people we love
Your flowers can be as simple or as elaborate as you like: a single rose looks very lovely; or you can bring a bouquet from the florist and put it in your own vase; or do your own beautiful flower arrangement from scratch.
You will be provided with a Memory Card, if you wish, for writing a few words about the person you are remembering.
On Friday June 8th Chris and Joan will be in the church to help people with the positioning of their flowers.
If you are interested in remembering someone in this way, you can simply come along to the church on the 8th and display your flowers.
However, if you would like to find out more about the weekend of 9th and 10th June or discuss your flower arrangement with Joan or Chris, do come along to the Coffee Morning at 11am on Saturday 12 May. It is being held in the church instead of the village hall so that people can see where their flowers will be placed.
You can contact Chris Corner on 640523 and Joan Hare on 641415 if you have any questions and they would be delighted to receive any offers of help with preparations for this occasion.

Derek Ratty

It was sad to hear of the recent death of Derek Ratty. He had lived in Gaydon since the early nineteen-fifties: looking at records of that time it is interesting to note that the majority of villagers were farm workers but Derek stands out because his then occupation was professional golfer!
He loved horses and hunting too. As an early subscriber to the Warwickshire hunt he thought the subs were two guineas.
"They treated me like a lord at every meet", he recalled. "Then I realised it should have been two shillings!"
Following the hunt with Derek was great entertainment: he knew every place and story of past events. He was also good company at local point to points where he had a great knack of picking the winners and ignoring the form book. He met many celebrities on the golf course too and was full of stories about them. His knowledge of Golfing memorabilia and history was extensive.
He was also a passionate gardener and walker, a great character and gentleman of the old school, when people "played the game". We will not see his like again in these changing times. Bernard Price

GAYDON FETE 2007 - HELP PLEASE!

This year's fête will be on 30th June in the field behind Church Lane. We are planning to run a Children's Area with a Bouncy Castle, face painting etc.; a Car Boot Sale, plus a Dog Show, Raffle, Tombola, teas and cakes; and various stalls and games.
The Malt Shovel has very kindly agreed to run a bar again and we hope to be able to run a barbecue too. This year we are also planning to have a Tractor Pull for the first time.
As usual we need lots of volunteers. We need: raffle prizes, cakes, home produce etc., plus people to run the stalls: teas and cakes, raffle and tombola. We would also love any new ideas for games and stalls.
If anyone could help with the following please contact one of the committee:
A P.A. system
Music or a band for evening afternoon/entertainment
People to run stalls/games/teas/barbecue etc.
If you can help on the day or have any ideas or suggestions please contact one of the fête committee:
Anna Perry 641971, Heather Golding 640953, Madeleine Hill 640636.
Next Meeting: Wednesday 9 May at 8pm at Bedford House.

Parish Plan

This is still ongoing, and we will be announcing further developments shortly. There will be a further meeting in the Village Hall on Monday May 28th to discuss the way forward. Anyone unable to attend who would like to be involved should contact Jonathan Crowe on 640394.

Purchase of Gaydon Field

This is also an ongoing project. There will be another meeting to discuss progress on Monday 4 June at 8pm in the Village Hall.
Anyone requiring further information, or who can not attend, should contact Jonathan Crowe on 640394.